Chapter 39: Rumors are just rumors, but this one of mine is officially certified.

"You don't have to hide anything; there's no one else here," the psychiatrist said. "I am a professional. Don't be constrained; be open and honest, and let us meet with sincerity..."

"Fine. Since you put it that way, I won't keep it from you. This friend isn't anyone else—she is... my cousin."

"Continue."

"It's a bizarre story... she's pregnant."

"That doesn't sound bizarre."

"But the child she is carrying belongs to her lover."

"That is also quite common."

"I just want to ask, what should my... my cousin do now? Should she keep the child or..."

"Let's assume, for a moment, that you are your cousin."

"I'll try..."

"...It is normal to have concerns, as this is a matter of great importance. However, my advice is to follow your heart. Let's do a brief hypnosis to let your subconscious tell you."

The psychiatrist quickly hypnotized the red-headed woman, putting her to sleep. Taking advantage of this, he walked into an adjacent room to organize medical records.

Shortly after, the woman in red opened her eyes abruptly. She quickly opened the file folder on the table, found what she was looking for, and concealed it on her person.

"Thank you, Doctor. I feel much better."

"Is that so? My treatment has only just begun..."

"I have things to attend to. The matters that were troubling me moments ago are nothing now." The woman in red smiled, opened the door, and walked out.

She stepped onto the street, hailed a taxi, and was driven to a rather luxurious restaurant.

A well-dressed Italian man was waiting for her inside. Seeing the red-headed woman approach, he said impatiently, "Julianne, if you came all this way to bother me just to talk about the child in your belly, then don't blame me for being unkind."

"Do you think I'm such a foolish person?" Julianne covered her mouth and chuckled. "I came here to tell you something important."

"What is it?" the Italian asked.

"This story begins with my visit to the psychiatrist earlier. I felt I might have some prenatal depression, especially since the child's father is such an irresponsible man, which only added to my pressure..."

"Get to the point," the Italian frowned.

"Guess who I saw while I was at the psychiatrist's?"

"Who?"

"Gotham City District Attorney, Harvey Dent, the man who has prosecuted so many of your family members," Julianne smiled triumphantly. "Who would have thought? Behind that righteous prosecutor lies a frantic, volatile demon."

"...Are you suggesting Harvey Dent is mentally ill?" The Italian narrowed his eyes.

"Of course."

"Harvey Dent is mentally ill—do I need you to tell me that?" The Italian said impatiently. It wasn't as if he hadn't dealt with Harvey before; he had long since noticed the man had manic tendencies.

"Rumors are just rumors, but this is official certification." Julianne pulled a sheet of paper from her handbag—it was indeed Harvey Dent's medical record.

"Aha, Julianne! You've done our family a great service!" The Italian reached out excitedly to take the record, but Julianne snatched it back before he could.

"Don't be so hasty. This should be worth quite a lot, shouldn't it?" Julianne smiled. "I've heard that raising a child requires a significant amount of money..."

"Bah, does my son have to worry about money?"

"Then we should discuss this properly..."

***

The next day, a raid was underway in Gotham City. Commissioner Gordon had led his men to surround a gang's stronghold, but the criminals refused to surrender, as they possessed heavy weaponry stolen from the military.

"Barrett SSRS smart grenade launchers? Has the gangs' firepower evolved to this point?" Commissioner Gordon surrounded the building, but hesitated to issue the order to attack.

"What's wrong? Why do you need my help? Isn't this usually a job for Batman?" Roland looked at the 30mm grenade launcher and couldn't help but feel a chill. He wasn't a true dragon, after all; if one of those hit him, he would be finished.

"Batman is currently wanted by the Commissioner; how could I dare ask for him?" Gordon looked distressed. "I have no choice but to turn to you."

"I'm feeling a bit shaky about this too..." Roland gritted his teeth. "I'll try to see if I can sneak in."

With that, he vanished into the night.

Just then, a dark shadow appeared inside the building, silently knocking out the gangsters one by one, disarming them.

"You're already here." Roland heard the constant sound of bodies hitting the floor and screams coming from the room. He rushed inside, only to find that Batman had already taken care of everything.

"Yes, it was quite troublesome to avoid the gaze of those police officers," Batman said. "I've handled it here. You can bring them out."

"Right." Roland nodded and dragged the unconscious men out of the room.

Harvey Dent soon arrived as well, joining Commissioner Gordon to face the press.

"Some onlookers said the person who subdued them was a priest in a bodysuit. Is that true?"

"Ah... that was actually a disguise worn by one of our officers."

"Facing so many heavily armed and vicious criminals, how did the Gotham City Police Department manage to capture them so successfully?"

"It is due to the diligent training of our officers and our advanced equipment..."

"District Attorney Dent, may I ask, are you married?"

"Er..." Gordon blinked. Why did the tone of the questions take such a strange turn when directed at Harvey?

Harvey, however, confidently announced that he had a fiancée and planned to marry her soon.

"But more important than my personal life is the fact that I need to wipe out the gangs of Gotham City!"

"Liar!" A gang member, beaten black and blue by Batman but still conscious, struggled to his feet. He kicked up a splash of mud from the ground, spraying it right into Harvey's face.

"You!" Harvey was enraged. He lifted the man up and slammed him heavily into the mud.

He raised his fist, ready to teach him a lesson.

"Don't!" Commissioner Gordon was startled by his actions and hurried forward to stop him.

"Good job... I mean, don't be impulsive!" Roland also stepped in to intervene, "accidentally" stepping on the man's mouth a few times in the process.

The reporters present were stunned, then realized they were about to have a major scoop. Camera flashes began to flicker incessantly.

Harvey stood there, embarrassed, suddenly at a loss for words in the face of the situation.

"It's not a big problem. Let Commissioner Gordon give those reporters some 'red envelopes' later; they'll know how to write the story," Roland whispered reassuringly.